April

We left the month of March behind and said hello to April but in all honesty the months have kind of started all running together now. The days all feel the same and most weeks just feel like a big blur of repetitiveness and monotony. Our governor announced that our shelter in place order would extend through the end of April which wasn't unexpected but still came as a disappointment for some. For me, I am happy to continue doing whatever the experts feel is necessary to keep us safe. Many people are upset that the government is telling us what to do, feeling that we are slowly being stripped of our freedoms. A lot of people are frustrated, worried and stressed about the economy since many businesses are still being ordered to stay closed. People are being laid off, furloughed or terminated. The government sent out economic stimulus checks to families and the amount was dependent upon your tax return and how many dependents you had living in your home. I am very thankful that Matthew's job has not been impacted thus far and I can only imagine how stressful this time is for many families as the financial burden grows with each passing day. But, even with all of that considered I am still personally in full support of extending these social distancing guidelines and stay at home orders as long as the officials feel it's necessary to keep people safe and save more lives. 

Just so I NEVER forget..... April 2, 2020

-Gas price in town was $1.63

-Schools are closed

-Teachers have been moving to distance learning using Google Classroom, Zoom, and other platforms.

-Social distancing and self quarantining measures are in place and being enforced

-Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.

-Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.

-Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.

-Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.

-Entire sports seasons cancelled.

-Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.

-Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.

-Churches have closed and moved to online services.

-No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now 5 or more.

-Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.

-Children's outdoor play parks are closed.

-We are to distance 6 ft away from each other.

-Shortage of N-95 masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.

-Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.

-Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.

Shelves are bare.

-Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

-Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.

-Fines are established for breaking the rules.

-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.

-Press conferences daily at 2 pm from the President. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.

-Government incentives to stay home.

-Barely anyone on the roads.

-People wearing masks and gloves outside.

-Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.

-Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.

-Terms like “shelter in place,” “social distancing,” and “self quarantine” become part of our daily language.

-People across the country are making homemade masks as PPE (personal protection eqiupment) Stores are sold out of fabric, elastic and even sewing machines because so many people are making homemade masks.

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared on March 11th, 2020

I wrote the following on April 9th after I ventured out of the house for the very first time... 

It’s been 24 days since I’ve left my house for any reason. My husband is an essential worker and although I’ve sent him to the grocery store a few times, by the time he’s able to get there after work or on the weekends, everything is cleaned out. I heard a few weeks ago that Kroger is dedicating special shopping hours to seniors and those who are medically high risk, as defined by the CDC. I never think of myself as “medically high risk” but according to the CDC I do in fact fall into that category because of my organ transplant and my immunosuppression. So in an act of desperation I swallowed my pride, put on my mask and headed out at 5:30 a.m. in order to be there when the doors opened at 6:00. As I stood in line in the dark outside the store I paid close attention to the others who were lining up behind me and suddenly I was keenly aware that I was most definitely the only person under 60 years old in the entire line. My mind started spinning and I began rehearsing what I would say if someone approached me and asked me why I was in the store. I surely didn’t look “sick” and clearly I am not 60 or older so it wouldn’t be totally unreasonable for someone to question my presence. How would I handle it? Would I show them a picture of me when I was dying? Would I lift up my shirt and show them the large scar that covers my belly? Hand them my giant pill box and show them my transplant medications? My anxiety was mounting as I worried about the judgment that I might face and how I would handle it.

As the doors opened and we began filing into the store I was pleasantly greeted by an employee who smiled at me and said good morning as I grabbed my cart and wiped it down. Whew—Crisis averted. I could now begin my mission of shopping for my family.

Like everyone else around me, I headed straight to the toilet paper aisle. I was still highly conscious of how conspicuous I looked as compared to my fellow shoppers so I respectfully held back, walking at a painfully slow snail’s pace behind them. I could have easily taken an alternate aisle and outrun my elders but my Mama raised me better than that.

As everyone circled around the grocery store employee who was frantically passing out paper goods, I waited my turn and finally made my way to the front of the line. As I turned to walk away with my rightfully earned pack of toilet paper in hand, an older lady looked at me and then looked at her friend and quite loudly said “I am just SO astounded at how young people can’t respect these special shopping hours“. And there it was—the very judgment that I had so dreaded was starring me right in the face in the form of a bitter white haired Grandmother dressed in a moo moo and donning a sparkly purple cane. I am generally a very non confrontational person but I had just been publicly shamed by a stranger and although I could feel my blood pressure rising inside of me I kept walking. I only got about ten steps away when I decided I was going to use this opportunity as a teachable moment for this angry lady who was so quick to jump to conclusions.

I approached her and with as much respect as I could possibly muster up I said “Excuse me mam...I heard your comment and I’d just like for you to know that I had an organ transplant not too long ago and although you might not be able to tell by looking at me on the outside, I have my share of health issues and I need to shop for my family with less crowds just like you do.” I am confident that if her false teeth hadn’t been glued in so well they’d have hit the floor along with her jaw. I honestly don’t know what she even said next because she was so taken aback that she began stumbling over her words and almost choked on her own tongue. I didn’t really need her to say anything anyway because my job there was done. I could have given her a long speech about not judging people based only on what you can or cannot see. I could have harped on her about compassion and kindness. Heck, I could have really shocked her by sharing that 7 years ago I had my entire large intestine removed and I now live with an ileostomy and therefore I needed that toilet paper a whole lot more than she did! But, sometimes less is more and I think I got my point across loud and clear in the form of one simple sentence.

I finished my grocery shopping and as I did, I got several deliberate looks from behind the masks of other shoppers. It’s amazing how despite not being able to see their faces, their eyes gave way to their thoughts. Our eyes speak volumes whether we realize it or not. There was no way I could stop each of those shifty eyed people and tell them my life story. I could not explain to them that there are reasons for me being there beyond what they are able to see. All I can do is share experiences like this in hopes that people will remember that not all illnesses are visible. Not all struggles look the same. The worst thing you can do to a person with an invisible illnesses is make them feel like they have to prove how sick they are, and I left Kroger today feeling exactly that way.

Sick or healthy, we are all doing the best we can these days. A little bit of compassion and a lot less judgment goes a long way, no matter the circumstances. Just be kind. Show grace. Speak truth. Love others. Be grateful. Believe the best and forgive the rest. I hope that on the other side of this we become a world that is more apt to doing those things. I’m doing my part to encourage it, one bitter Kroger shopper at a time!

(I'd also like to document that my shopping experience was quite different than the last time I was in Kroger. People were lining up outside the store before daylight, standing six feet apart. Everyone had on a mask and some had on rubber gloves. While in the store, people kept their distance from one another, or at least tried to. When it was time to check out there were taped lines on the floor marking the six foot distance between shoppers as they stood in line. The cashier was behind a piece of glass but she did not have on a mask which I found odd. Some stores are only allowing a certain number of people in at a time and others are going as far as only allowing one family member per cart, as to deter people from bringing their kids, spouses, etc. All of these restrictions are being enforced for our own well being, in hopes of keeping exposure to a minimum and therefore continuing to flatten the curve of this virus. There are strict limits on things like bread, eggs, meat, milk and toilet paper because those items are in such high demand.) 

 Quarantine Chronicles—Week 4 

 Finally, we had something to celebrate! This year Easter weekend looked a whole lot different for our family, as it likely did for every family in America. It was the first time in 37 years that this special holiday hasn’t been spent with our extended Florida/Georgia family but we made the best of it and it will definitely be an Easter that we always remember. 

We told Kyndall she could plan our entire day so she spent much of her free time this past week meticulously preparing a bunch of fun activities for the three of us. This included a family dance competition, (in which I took first place) a family drawing contest, a family talent show, and a game of charades. The judges for these events were the Grandparents who watched it all through FaceTime and then chose winners for each category. Kyndall even constructed a surprise trophy for the winner  which ironically turned out to be her—rigged! It certainly wasn’t anything like our traditional Easter but we realized that finding joy in the simple things is what creates some of the sweetest and most lasting memories. 

I LIVE for traditions and there are some traditions that just CAN’T be left out so we still had a visit from the (very generous) Easter Bunny,  Easter Sunday church service, Our usual Easter cook out, plenty of sweets and of course an egg hunt complete with a prize egg. We even had a giant family Zoom session spanning three states and 9 families! We wrapped up our Easter Sunday by watching one of my very favorite movies, Son Of God which is always a sobering reminder that Jesus Christ endured the unimaginable and willingly made the ultimate sacrifice for each of us.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the way things are “supposed to be” or the way things “have always been” that we forget the true meaning of the day which we are celebrating. This year God quite literally stripped all of that away and brought the focus right back to Himself, which is exactly how it should have been all along. Today was a great day and because He lives, I can face tomorrow!

The week leading up to Easter was our 4th week in isolation. After 24 days of no contact with the outside world I made my first trip out of the house at 5:30 a.m. to get in line to buy groceries. Kyndall and I continued with her distance learning school work each day and we also spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather. We had a few sweet, unexpected surprises from friends and neighbors which continues remind me that there are still good people acting as the hands and feet of Jesus even in the midst of so much negativity. We had a family game night and also watched the series “The Chosen” as a family throughout the course of the week. (I highly recommend this to everyone!) Sadly, Kyndall’s pet Beta Fish “Bob the Beta” unexpectedly went to fishy Heaven so we had an emotional couple of days with lots of tears. Bob received the proper burial complete with a little fish casket that Kyndall designed herself.

I am ready for this time of isolation to be over as much as the next person, but probably for very different reasons than most. I am truly enjoying the slower pace, the extra family time and forced time of rest. I see this season of my life as a true gift and I will be sad when it’s over and our lives go back to being so busy.

Every week or so there is a "living room concert" on TV and we always look forward to watching them

Kyndall's sweet friend Adara dropped off some handmade cards and pictures for Kyndall on our front porch. It made her day!

RIP Bob the Beta Fish 

Our neighbor Mrs. Lindsey had a birthday so we walked a gift down and left it on her porch. Again, any excuse to get out of the house!

Multitasking 

Enjoying the beautiful weather

Some days we even take school work outside

Another sign of the times--Antibacterial disinfecting wipes cannot be found anywhere. Matthew was able to get a bulk supply from one of his customers and we then distributed them out to others who wanted them. 

Dinner on the patio

Working on her school work

Evening bike rides in the evenings are one of my favorite things that we've been able to do with all of this extra time

Yet another sign of the times--This is the line for grocery pick up at Kroger

Kyndall has been surprising us with some of her requests lately including asking to try a hot dog. For a kid who has never eaten any meat, we were shocked. She ended up loving it!

After my post about my unfortunate experience at the grocery store, I had several friends and neighbors reach out offering to make grocery store runs for me. I mentioned to one of them how frustrated I was that I had forgotten to pick up brown sugar. Within half an hour there were two bags of brown sugar on my front porch. This trying time has definitely brought out the best in some people!

Another sweet Easter surprise for Kyndall showed up on the front porch from some of our neighbors 

Even turtles need to get out and enjoy the sunshine

Boredom level--She figured out how to make a sea turtle out of an Oreo

Making Easter goodies the day before Easter

Family game night

Watching "Son of God" the night before Easter

Easter Sunday!

Family charades 

Family dance contest--Ha!

Drawing contest

Hughes Family talent show winner

It just isn't Easter without Grandma's rotel cheese dip

Keeping the tradition of burgers for Easter lunch

Family Zoom call

We traded our Easter church clothes for masks this year

The weather turned rough so we had to move the egg hunt inside

 Quarantine Chronicles—Week 5 

Same song different verse this past week—Kyndall and I continued with her distance learning/virtual homeschool while Matthew reported to work each day. Kyndall has decided that she likes getting the school work all completed by Thursday so that Friday is a “free day” for us. Works for me! She had her first research project due this past week which she presented to the class virtually so that was new and fun! Beginning tomorrow her teacher will have a daily instruction hour with the whole class via Zoom in which she teaches a live lesson to the kids, rather than just a once a week check in. We’re pretty excited about this! This past Friday was supposed to be the end of year Field Day at school so in place of that her teacher took them on a virtual field trip to the National Aquarium in Washington D.C.! I continue to be amazed at the ways in which our school district and our teachers have adapted to this new way of learning while also making it as normal as possible and as fun as possible for the kids! Sadly, our governor announced on Friday that Texas schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year. We kind of figured this was coming but hearing it officially stated brought about an array of emotions, from relief to sadness. When we left school for spring break just six weeks ago we had no idea it would be for the very last time. The world we we were living in on Friday March 6th was completely different than the world we’re living in now and that’s been difficult to wrap our minds around. Things changed so drastically, so quickly.

Also worth noting this week, the Mayor of Dallas county announced that beginning this past Saturday anyone in Dallas county who is an essential employee must wear a mask or cloth face covering. Additionally anyone out in public visiting an essential business or using public transportation must also wear a mask. Violators can be fined $1,000 and/or jail time for non compliance. What a weird time to be alive. I for one am not mad about it. No, it's not ideal but neither is trying to breathe through a ventilator. I've been there and done that and prefer not to ever again!

There's a lot of talk going on about states allowing certain businesses to open back up in the next week. Jacksonville, FL opened their beaches back up this past week. I for one am not happy about this. It's too soon. I realize that the economy is at stake but so are human lives. If we open back up too soon then all of the work we've put in with this quarantine will be for nothing! The entire country seems to be very divided on the issue. Many are pushing for the country to reopen while others like myself are praying the leaders will give it some more time. It's a touchy subject and most people have a pretty strong opinion one way or another.

A few highlights from the past week—Lots of good family time, gorgeous weather, a trip out of the house for a Sonic treat, a socially distanced front yard visit from our besties, FaceTime calls with friends and family, a new sea turtle rescue Lego set to build, the inaugural overnight sleep in the new loft and a much anticipated Saturday night performance from my favorite, Celine Dion.

We are continuing to make the best of this time and I personally continue to enjoy this newfound way of life. I don’t love this virus by any means but I do love what it has done for our family. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again—this time has been a gift and these restrictions have been a blessing. I fully realize that quarantine life isn’t the same for every family but for us it has been a chapter of our lives that I will always be grateful for.

I can’t take credit for the following but it so eloquently relays exactly how I have been feeling through all of this....

I PRAY WE DON'T GO BACK TO NORMAL

1. I pray that the next time a friend grabs me and pulls me in for a hug, I actually take the time to appreciate the gift of their embrace.

2. I pray that when school resumes and people are dropping kids off, they take the time to thank the staff for the amazing gift that they give to our community.

3. I pray that the next time I’m sitting in a crowded restaurant I take the time to look around at the smiling faces, loud voices and thank God for the gift of community.

4. I pray that the next time I’m standing in church listening to the voices of praise and worship that I take a moment to thank God for the gift of congregation.

5. I pray that the next time I see a person or situation that needs prayer, I hope I pray as passionately and fervently as I have these past few weeks.

6. I pray that when I am at the grocery store that I take a moment to thank God that He provides us with the necessities of life and the amazing people who work so hard to keep us supplied.

7. I pray that I never again take for granted the ability to hop in the car and visit a friend, go to the mall, attend a gathering, etc.

So the truth is, I don’t want things to return to the way they once were. I pray that we take the lessons and challenges of the past few weeks and create a new normal.

My goal is to pray more, love harder and truly appreciate the daily abundance of blessings that were so easily overlooked just a mere few weeks ago.

A few pictures from our week...

Doesn't everyone eat breakfast with a giant sea turtle?

The official announcement...

Who knew Legos made a sea turtle rescue set? This was a fun surprise I found for her!

Quarantine boredom level--I found her in the driveway having a photo shoot with her stuffed turtles!

Her photo shoot results

On a "virtual field trip" with her class to the National Aquarium in D.C.! Her teacher was sweet to visit the sea turtle exhibit first!

First time out of the house in a long time!

Her completed research project

Presenting her research project to the class

In her happy place, sewing away

First overnight sleep in the new loft!

Saturday morning--I almost couldn't find Kyndall among the masses of stuffed animals

Kyndall's best friend Ryann and her Mom drove to Forney for a socially distanced front yard visit. This moment was equal parts sweet and equal parts heartbreaking. These two were dying to give each other a hug!

My girl Celine Dion gave me life with her on air performance of "The Prayer" on Saturday night's TV concert

 Quarantine Chronicles—Week 6 

I actually had to look at the calendar to see what week of quarantine we are in fact in before I posted this. To say the days and weeks are a total blur is an understatement! But, I still do not hate it! I’ve come to the realization that I’m much more of a homebody and an introvert than I ever realized because I’m perfectly happy with our new routine. In fact, it’s going to be hard for me to go back to “real life” once the world opens up again—partially because of my reluctancy about the safety of venturing out and partially because I just like my little bubble. 

This week we got all of Kyndall’s school work done by Wednesday which gave us lots of extra free time. As usual we spent lots of time outside. We had a couple of family game nights. We spent time in the kitchen baking goodies. We took the plunge and started plans for a backyard pool. We celebrated our dog Huckabee’s 11th birthday, which included ice cream and gifts. And most exciting of all, Matthew and I celebrated 12 years of marriage today! We treated ourselves to take out from Texas Roadhouse which we enjoyed in the back of the truck in the Rooms to Go parking lot. I even brought real dishes and fancy glasses to make it feel a little more special! After dinner we made a dessert stop at Bahama Bucks where we waited in line for an entire hour to get smoothies.

Quarantine life has provided our family with some of the sweetest opportunities to make lasting memories and I continue to be so grateful for that!

“Enjoy the little things in life for one day you will look back and realize they were actually the big things.”

Monday mood for Huckabee

Typical scene--Once Kyndall is finished with her daily school work she hops on a Facetime call with her friend Katie on her ipad while simultaneously watching Youtube videos on her laptop while also drawing and coloring. That's what I call multitasking!

She's been doing a lot of sewing in her free time and one night she asked me what I'd like for her to make. I said a strawberry and she delivered! She didn't even use a pattern.

Family game night! I will always win at Monopoly. Always!

The fun thing about having school through the computer is that you're allowed to bring your stuffed animals to "class"

Our neighborhood put up these inspirational bunnies around the pond...

The weather has been so nice that we've been going for evening walks every night around the neighborhood 

She's ridden dozens of miles on this thing by now!

Family game night and ice cream--what could be better?

She's been sleeping in her loft each night and also requesting breakfast in bed each morning. Why not? 

I've had to get creative with some of my teaching strategies so we used Nerf guns to practice multiplication tables. It worked!

This is what boredom looks like...

First time trying a corndog....

....And she said she wasn't a fan. Ugh. How can you like hotdogs bu not corndogs??

When I get a craving, we just call it home ec!

From peanut butter cookies to fried pickles all in the same day

Another Zoom class, another appearance by a stuffed animal

Cam is so smart and has some kind of internal clock that tells him how the day is supposed to go. Each afternoon around the time Matthew is due home I find him standing at the window waiting for him. I have no idea how he knows it's time but he definitely does! He's not settled until all of his humans are home and accounted for. 

We met with a pool designer and this is the preliminary rendering that he came up with, based on what we asked for! We're super excited but also super nervous to make this big of an investment!

Huckabee turned 11 on April 24th!

He even got some happy birthday wishes from Kyndall's classmates during sharing time

Kyndall sewed these little gifts as birthday presents for Huckabee. She made him a pillow and some stuffed dog toys.

Birthday treats! Vanilla ice cream with a dog treat on top.

More than once I found Huckabee passed out on the little pillow that Kyndall sewed for him!

Introducing her to a classic--Fruit Striped Gum!

On Fridays we get out of the house for a change of scenery and a sweet treat!

The weather has been SO nice that many days I've had all the doors and windows wide open

We celebrated our 12th anniversary on April 26th. Although it wasn't our typical celebration, it's definitely one we will always remember! Since all of the restaurants are closed I decided it would be fun to get take out from Texas Roadhouse and then have a picnic in the parking lot in the back of the truck! I even brought along real dishes and fancy glasses to make it feel extra special.

After dinner in the parking lot we headed over to Bahama Bucks for some smoothies as dessert. The line was wrapped around the building and we waited almost an hour. Normally I would've never spent an hour of my life in line for a smoothie but this quarantine has taught me to just slow down and make the most of each moment and not be in such a rush all the time.

Helping me make an anniversary cake

I can't believe it's been 12 years since we said "I do". In some ways it seems like so much longer than that and in other ways it still feels like yesterday. I love Matthew more today than I did yesterday and I'll love him more tomorrow than I did today. He is truly my best friend and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. I pray we have many more years to celebrate!

Another sewing creation--This time she made a replica of her recently departed beta fish, Bob. She didn't even use a pattern! I was so impressed at how realistic it was!

Quarantine Chronicles—Week 7 

I absolutely LIVE for surprises so the highlight of our week came this afternoon when we successfully pulled off a surprise Teacher Appreciation Week parade for Kyndall’s fabulous teacher, Mrs. Bailey. Her reaction to seeing all of her sweet students’ smiling faces was absolutely priceless!There was laughter, a few tears and lots of air hugs from behind the 6 foot chalk line that I drew on the road. This will definitely go down as one of the best memories from the 2020 quarantine. #CoronaClass2020

Here are a few videos of her reaction--It was priceless!

Kyndall thought it would be funny to bring her a roll of toilet paper along with her real gifts

Her reaction was the best!!

Each student took a turn walking up to the chalk line and giving an air hug to Mrs. Bailey and setting her gifts down for her.

Also worth noting this week—I made my first trip to Walmart in two months which was only my second time going out in public since we began our quarantine on March 15th. I found myself anxious and admittedly even a little scared as I drove there, second guessing my decision to expose myself and wondering if it was really worth the risk. I was shocked and even angry at the number of people not wearing masks or practicing proper social distancing guidelines so I got in and out as quickly as humanly possible!

Like many others states, our governor here in Texas began reopening things this past week and although it may be the unpopular opinion, I feel it’s just way too soon. I want life to get back to “normal” as much as the next person but not at the risk of more lives lost. Our family will continue living exactly the way we have for the past two months, keeping our distance and staying home until we feel comfortable reintroducing ourselves to the world again. 

We gave Kyndall tickets to the Dude Perfect tour as a Christmas gift and every day since then she’s been anxiously counting down to June. We found out (not surprisingly) that the tour will be postponed indefinitely so she was pretty bummed about that. Also, tonight was supposed to be the church kids choir spring musical in which she was chosen for a lead role and had been practicing for many weeks. On a happier note, it looks like at this point our annual family beach vacation will still happen the week of July 4th! That’s certainly something happy to look forward to! By then it will have been over six months since we’ve seen my parents, my sister and my nephews. That’s by far the longest we’ve ever been apart and we have felt every minute of it.

Here are a few fun memories from week 7 of quarantine...

We bought the dogs this silly dog stroller because they can't hold out to go on long walks around the neighborhood. We used to have one before we had Kyndall and they loved it. Somewhere in one of our many moves we decided to get rid of it. I wasn't sure if they would still enjoy it but they do!

Cam is completely over the quarantine life and he let me know that by laying down and going to sleep on my homeschool "teacher" notebook!

Our church, First Baptist Forney, hosted a drive up prayer time which I thought was really cool. Everyone practiced proper social distancing.

We officially signed the contract on our pool this past week which was equally a scary as it was exciting! They also came and put a sign in our yard as well as drew out the plans for the pool with spray paint. Hopefully next week they will start digging and if weather cooperates it should be finished in about six weeks!

Huckabee loves to get in on the daily Zoom calls with Kyndall's class

She's really been missing her weekly art lessons so we found a lady who is doing live drawing tutorials online each day at 2:30. We always try to take a break from school work so that she can draw along with her.

Kyndall has never had a spelling test in her life. EVER. For whatever reason our school district just does not believe that memorization is the correct way to learn to spell. I very strongly disagree. Her spelling is really lacking and it's been driving me crazy so during this home school/quarantine I have decided to implement weekly spelling tests. She's not happy about it but one day she will thank me! I'm trying to keep it fun so on this day we practiced her words with chalk on the driveway.

She's been sleeping in the loft in her craft room every night and requesting breakfast in bed each morning. I've decided to indulge her because I know these are memories she'll always remember during this really strange time we're living in. But that doesn't change the fact that this quarantine has turned her into a quaran-QUEEN!
Please note that she sent me this text well past noon!

On Fridays her teacher hosts their daily Zoom call but she calls it "Fun Friday" and it's just that! On this particular day Kyndall and her classmates played charades. 

She's been sewing up a storm during her free time and her messy craft room is proof of that!

She had her first spelling test at the end of last week and she made a 100%! I was very proud of her!

Saturday nights look a lot different these days and I definitely don't hate it. Matthew and I were able to work on our marriage Bible study on the back porch together while enjoying a fire. It's hard to even remember the last time we slowed down enough to do things like that.

I had a craving for Coke floats!

The picture on the left came up in my memories this past week and I couldn't help but compare it to the picture on the right from our cruise a few weeks ago. Same sweet girl, but so much more grown up! Time is a thief!

I didn't write this but I'm posting it here so that when we look back we can remember all of the big and little changes that were happenign during this time....

So we don’t forget....

Today is Wednesday April 29, 2020.

- We are (at average) at 43 days of social isolation. As if this morning in the US, there have been more than 56,000 coronavirus deaths reported nationally and more than 1,000,000 cases of the virus in the US.

- Schools have been closed since March 13th and are teaching remotely on-line. Schools will not reopen for the 2019-2020 school year.

- Only “essential” retail stores are open such as grocery stores, hardware stores, and pharmacies. Amazon delivery windows average 3 - 4 weeks when they used to be max. 2 days. No gyms are open, and it’s almost impossible to find weights, exercise equipment, BIKES, etc.

- There are lines / tape inside the stores on the floors to keep people 6 feet apart. Markings on the floors to only go one way down the isles.

- Bars and restaurants are open only for takeout, home delivery & drive through if at all.

- Playgrounds and sports fields are closed. Most beaches, parks and cemeteries are closed to the public. No visitors are allowed in hospitals, even if you have to take your loved one to the ER, you can’t go in with them, must drop off. 😢

- All major and minor league sports competitions have been canceled as well as kids' sports. The NFL draft was done virtually this week.

- All festivals and entertainment events have been banned.

- Weddings, family celebrations, and graduations have been canceled. Funerals limited to 10 people graveside, in some places only one person may attend.

- People are doing drive-by parades to celebrate birthdays.

- Young kids can’t understand why they can only see grandparents & other extended family and friends on a screen or thru a window if someone visits in person or on Facetime online.

-Visitors are prohibited at nursing homes and assisted living residences.

- Hugs and kisses are not exchanged.

- Places of worship are closed or online.

- We have to stay away from each other more than six feet.

- Shortage of disposable masks and gloves in hospitals.

- People are wearing masks, some places REQUIRE that you wear them to enter! People are even sewing their own cloth masks for sale or donation to medical facilities, because there is no masks to be bought online. There’s a shortage of elastic for the homemade masks and most places now selling out of fabric.

- Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bleach, antibacterial wipes and anything Lysol or Clorox is in short supply and limited per person.... IF you can even find them! (This goes the same for flour and yeast).

- Stores are closing early to disinfect everything. (24 hour stores are even closing by 6,8 or 9pm)

- Store check outs, pharmacies and even fast food drive thru windows have added plexiglass between the employee and the customer. Have to reach around or under to pay!

- You can't find isopropyl alcohol easily. .. the supply per person is limited.

- Australia, USA, Canada and Europe have closed their borders.

- Western Australia has been divided into 9 territories & an instant $1,500 fine issued for crossing the border without a valid reason. (Transport workers, Essential services etc)

- No one is traveling for leisure. Airports empty. Tourism has the worst crisis in history.

- Disney has closed all of its theme parks since March, with rumor talks that they may not be reopening until 2021.

- Wi-Fi and cell phone providers have extended their limits to provide connection to the Internet for people to continue to work from home and for students to learn from their teachers.

- We are all wondering if pools, parks, concerts and summer activities will happen?

- We don't know if baseball seasons will start, hockey season will continue/end or any summer camps, etc. will run. Lots of teen/college summer jobs are up in the air.

-Colleges have not made definite decisions about whether to take their classes online, in person, or open at all for the fall.

-K-12 has ended their school year and plans to open for the fall have so many unknowns, social distancing, new guidelines for keeping everyone safe. How will it be scheduled? Can sports and activities continue as they have?

- Society appears to be divided about whether or not we should continue to isolate or open back up and get the economy going. It's an election year and politics are messy and complicating this issue.